Word Creator Kai Cenat’s Definition of Rizz and How TikTok Ruined It

Anything less than shocking, a new Gen Z word has risen, again, from the TikTok algorithm. Rizz, the pop culture word of the moment, is popping up on our group texts, social media, and bar scene. After its induction into my orbit through friends, the word found its way to me a few days later in no other place but Los Angeles.

I was experiencing rizz in real time as I took back mezcal shots with an LA friend as we subtly attempted to rizz each other up. All while talking about the new word in Millennial fashion. We were putting our best personalities first and flirting with the buzz of the mezcal. If that’s rizz, hasn’t that been in our bar scene since the first served drink?

Since before my own rizzing, the Gen Z word has taken alternative meanings. But according to its creator, Kai Cenat, NYC Twitch, and Youtuber, the true meaning of rizz has gotten lost in the sauce of TikTok.

What does rizz mean?

Rizz is short for charisma. Supposedly already coined as Merriam-Webster’s 2023 word of the year, rizz is one’s ability to flirt or charm a potential romantic partner. It’s how well one is at spitting game, chatting someone up, shooting your shot, or however, one likes to say they're attempting to meet a romantic partner.

While the word has just approached mainstream, Kai Cenat, the creator, now refrains from using the word at all. To Cenat, rizz is how well one can save a dying attempt at hitting on someone. Rizz is securing a phone number after feeling like you’ve lost your chance. It’s a glow-up in real-time. Using our personality to secure the match.

Where TikTok lost its credibility is the users’ coin of “unspoken rizz.” Opposed to its original origin, people are now claiming someone to have rizz without speaking. It’s a look or aura about a person. One can just walk into the room and attract a mate. A little superficial, as many TikTok trends are, the sustainability of unspoken rizz is questionable. Unspoken rizz is just how attractive someone is. Even then, it’s a sliding scale. Physical attraction is different for every spectator. Emrata wouldn’t turn every head when she walked into a room.

Let’s stick by the OG, Kai Cenat. Rizz is personality.

But do I have rizz?

Everyone has a bit of rizz. The level of rizz is up to your confidence. And, you don’t have to be a male to have it as Google might portray. Search rizz once and the first thing to pop up is an urban dictionary take on how to “pull bitches.” Whatever your gender or age, rizz lives in all of us.

Rizz isn’t only for a romantic interest. It’s the rizz you used to get a table at the new restaurant. But rizz too hard and you’ll have a table filled with chef specials that you’re expected to pay for, as per the LA rizzer. Rizz gets us a free coffee from the cute barista. Someone else’s rizz persuades me to buy another face serum at Sephora.

Rizz is the “Je ne sais quois.” That “something” that makes you smile and say okay. In some ways, it’s showing extra kindness and attention. Rizz is accessed through confidence. The confidence in ourselves and who we are. Rizz is simply advocating for our personality. If you’ve been out to a bar and attempted to chat someone up, chances are you were rizzing.

The dating scene has always been full of rizz before Cenat began saying the term. It’s what brings us meet-cutes and turns them into dates… or one-nightstands. Rizz makes the dating world go round. The catalyst of meeting IRL. That little spark that makes a connection.

We all have some rizz. Looking to level up your rizz game? Keep working on your inner confidence. Before you know it, you too will be a “Rizz God.”

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